Australia underline big-match credentials with beautiful India takedown

MELBOURNE, Nov 20 (Reuters) – India dominate the enterprise aspect of worldwide cricket by nearly each metric however Australia confirmed industrial clout counts for little when groups battle on the sport’s largest stage.

With a pitch providing little consolation for tempo bowlers and terraces full of blue-clad followers, Sunday’s World Cup ultimate couldn’t have been higher arrange for the hosts to emerge unbeaten champions.

As an alternative, Australia, led by a Travis Head century and their sensible trio of quicks, humbled India and their batting riches in a dominant six-wicket win that will rank the best of their six World Cup triumphs.

Having claimed the World Take a look at Championship in June, Pat Cummins’s crew have proven greatness throughout codecs and can little doubt fancy finishing a sweep of the sport’s largest prizes at subsequent yr’s T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies.

Australia’s ‘golden period’ beneath captains Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, after they gained three one-day World Cups in succession from 1999-2007, has solid an extended shadow over the groups that adopted.

However some really feel Cummins’s squad is at the very least worthy of comparability.

“They’ve gained a T20 World Cup, they’re the world take a look at champions and now they’re the World Cup winners in India,” former England captain Michael Vaughan stated on BBC Take a look at Match Particular.

“This group now must be talked about in the same vein.”

NO NAIL-BITERS

As a spectacle, the ultimate in Ahmedabad couldn’t maintain a candle to the tied 2019 basic wherein England edged New Zealand on boundary depend.

Australia, nonetheless, don’t do nail-biters.

Their opponents in finals aren’t a lot overwhelmed as remorselessly crushed by technical brilliance and consummate execution.

Since dropping the 1996 ultimate to Sri Lanka, Australia have walloped each crew they’ve confronted within the decider, beginning with an eight-wicket thrashing of Pakistan in 1999.

India have been embarrassed in a 125-run defeat within the 2003 ultimate, Sri Lanka hammered by 53 runs within the rain-hit 2007 decider, and in 2015 New Zealand crashed to a seven-wicket loss at a heaving Melbourne Cricket Floor.

Six years later, Australia added their first T20 World Cup title to the combo, cruising previous New Zealand within the Dubai ultimate.

With Australia’s pedigree of big-match success, Cummins gave brief shrift to the concept of his crew being underdogs earlier than Sunday’s ultimate.

“Not less than a dozen of the 15 have gained a World Cup and know what it takes,” he stated of his squad.

“(They) will not be afraid to go on the market and be courageous, take the sport on.”

And so it proved.

Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood took seven wickets between them, choking the life out of an Indian batting lineup that had dominated the match.

Already ranked among the many finest Australian tempo assaults, the trio go away India with reputations additional enhanced.

Australia’s fielding was within the crosshairs earlier within the match with a collection of dropped catches however on Sunday they gave nothing away, holding India and not using a boundary for an hour at one level.

Cummins additionally departs with doubts about his captaincy banished.

The take a look at skipper entered the World Cup having led the ODI aspect solely a handful of occasions however has now joined Waugh, Ponting and Allan Border as Australia’s title-winning captains.

In Sunday’s ultimate, his gutsy choice to discipline first, his decisive bowling adjustments and his taking of Virat Kohli’s wicket set the tone for a crew who thrives when the stakes are highest.

“I believed his management truly has acquired higher and higher proper by means of the match,” Ponting stated on Sky Sports activities.

“So he totally deserves each plaudit that comes his manner so far as management is worried.”

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